TNI Bureau: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced the schedule for the Rajya Sabha by-election from Odisha following the resignation of former BJD MP Debashish Samantaray.

The Odisha Rajya Sabha Bypoll will be clubbed with bypolls to be held for 26 Rajya Sabha seats across 12 states on June 18, 2026. It’s believed that Debashish Samantaray will get a re-nomination and continue his term till April 2030, as he has joined the BJP with this condition, like Sujeet Kumar and Mamata Mohanta.

According to the official press note issued by the ECI, the vacancy in the Council of States occurred on May 25, 2026, after Samantaray resigned from the post. The term of the seat was scheduled to continue till April 3, 2030.

As per the election schedule, the notification for the by-election will be issued on June 1, while the last date for filing nominations is June 8. Scrutiny of nominations will be held on June 9 and candidates can withdraw their nominations till June 11.

Polling for the by-election will be conducted on June 18 from 9 am to 4 pm, while counting of votes will take place on the same day at 5 pm. The entire election process is scheduled to be completed by June 20.

The Election Commission has also directed that only the integrated violet colour sketch pen supplied by the Returning Officer will be used for marking preferences on ballot papers. It further stated that adequate measures would be taken to ensure free and fair polling through close monitoring of the election process.